Lamar Advertising
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The Model T was one of the first affordable cars. It changed the United States, and ushered in an era of cheap, low-cost manufacturing. As more people became reliant on cars, roads and highways were soon built to support them. Soon enough, advertisers realized that setting up billboards on roads and highways was an excellent advertising strategy. Businesses started using billboards to create advertisements that entertained drivers. Jared Bell created some of the first billboards for famous circus acts in the 1830’s. They were often hand-drawn or hand-painted daring circus acts and were extremely labor-intensive.
Charles Lamar founded Lamar Advertising in 1902, with headquarters in Baton Rouge, LA. Lamar Advertising Company (Nasdaq: LAMR) is one of the largest outdoor advertising companies in the world. They also do airport displays and transit displays throughout Canada and the United States. In the early 2000’s, Lamar Advertising came to Meridian offering banners and window graphics, along with static and digital billboards. In the advertising world, billboards can be used for directional advertising, branding or promoting a new company. By putting them in specific demographic locations, over 100,000 people can view the billboard each week.
Digital billboards require less work than traditional billboards, offering more possibilities for creativity and experimentation. Lamar has announced a new deal with FEMA as part of its continued .jpg)
commitment to use its digital billboard network to keep communities safe and informed. Emergency alerts transmitted over FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert & Warning System are being displayed on select Lamar digital billboards through the country.
Things have changed so much. In the 80’s, you had to actually paint the billboards. Now you print a vinyl and install it. In the 80’s and even 90’s, you had to take a picture with a regular camera, print the pictures and mail them to the clients. You can now go to Lamar.com and look at all the billboards in the Meridian market and see what is available. Once you rent a digital billboard, you can change your message and artwork as much as you want, without extra charge. All the digital billboards are managed out of the Baton Rouge headquarters and are monitored 24/7. They know instantly if one goes down.
Lisa Irby, Senior Account Executive says, “Digital billboards are very reasonable. Do your research and think about who your target customer is. All businesses should consider marketing in their budget. It’s needed to survive.”
Lamar Advertising is a chamber member because they are glad to be a part of Lauderdale County and want to know what is going on in Meridian and the local area. “The chamber helps established businesses and they help bring in more business to our area,” adds Lisa.
Billboards are definitely not a thing of the past. Today, billboards comprise 66% of the ‘out of home’ advertising market. While the billboard advertising form will continue to shift and change, one thing is certain: billboards are here to stay.